HOME AT LAST – Dr. Heidi McMorrow, who with her husband Dr. Scott Munson owns and operates the Cape Cod Animal Hospital in West Barnstable, holds up a portrait of the hospital given by friends at a grand re-opening on Aug. 7. The hospital’s original building was destroyed in 2009 when sparks from an electrical cable ignited a gas line buried in the same trench.

A celebration in West Barnstable

From the ashes of a tragic fire, an animal hospital celebrated renewed life last Saturday with games, food, and above all, a blessing of the new building and of the pets who are its patients.

The Cape Cod Animal Hospital in West Barnstable burned to the ground early in 2009 when an electrical cable ignited a gas line that was buried in the same trench. With portable buildings and the help of many volunteers, Drs. Heidi McMorrow and Scott Munson were able to keep their hospital fully staffed and to serve the pets who had been their patients.

This spring, they began to move into a new building that incorporated many features of the old – especially a fireplace. On Aug. 7, the veterinarians and their staff hosted a grand opening of the new hospital.

The first order of business was blessing – first, a blessing of the building, and then, a blessing of all the animals who attended, and some who did not. People who left their cats at home could bring them a St. Francis medal in honor of the saint who is so renowned for his love of animals.

The Rev. Brian W. McGurk, rector of St. Christopher’s Church in Chatham and dean of the Cape Cod and Islands region of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, offered the blessings. He had married the two veterinarians a few years ago, he said, and noted that it seemed that the marriage “took,” so perhaps the blessings would too.